


A million little things

by Rayj4ck



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/F, Harem fic, I'm not sure what to do with all the guys, Lila will also not be in this, No canon pairings are together, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, and betting on who her next gf will be, because I only saw her like twice before I stopped watching and was not a fan, so she's also back there plotting on how to steal everyone's shoelaces or something, so you can imagine them all in the background cheering Juleka on
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:55:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25947679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rayj4ck/pseuds/Rayj4ck
Summary: No one is more "Get Juleka a girlfriend" than Juleka's girlfriends
Relationships: Alya Césaire/Juleka Couffaine, Chloé Bourgeois/Juleka Couffaine, Juleka Couffaine/Alix Kubdel, Juleka Couffaine/Kagami Tsurugi, Juleka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Juleka Couffaine/Mylène Haprèle, Juleka Couffaine/Rose Lavillant, Juleka Couffaine/Sabrina Raincomprix
Comments: 16
Kudos: 91





	1. Rose

**Author's Note:**

> Congrats SorryJustAnotherPerson. This is what you have wrought.

“...Appetite.” 

Rose hummed as she counted out the letters. “Fits!” she cheered, penning them into the boxes and crossing that number off of the question list. “You’re so good at these Juleka.”

Juleka ducked behind her hair reflexively, even though Rose was leaning against her chest, and couldn’t see her face anyway. “I get a few connections lucky. You fill out a lot more than I do.” 

“Ugh! My parents talk about all this old stuff so much, you have no idea how boring it is.” Rose threw her head back, nearly clocking Juleka in the chin. Thankfully, she dodged with practiced ease, and Rose’s head _thump_ ed against her shoulder instead. She craned her neck over to Juleka, who couldn’t help but smile at the silly pose they so often found themselves in, yet somehow never got old. 

_Our faces sure are close…_

“Alright! Next one!” Rose cheered, leaning her head back forward to look at the crossword in front of them. Juleka’s collarbone felt cold at the absence.

* * *

“Juleka!” Rose looked at her with a worried pout. “What do you mean you don’t have a lunch?” 

“Had to rush out this morning.” Juleka shrugged. “Didn’t have a chance to pack one.”

Rose huffed at her crossing her arms. Juleka had to force a chuckle back into her throat. Rose looked like an extremely grumpy teddy bear. 

“Well come on then.” Rose’s words shook her out of her daydream. 

“Huh?”

“We’re going to get you some lunch.”

“It’ll be alright! I can go without one today.” Juleka put up her hands to try and dissuade Rose, but it had almost the opposite effect. Rose gasped and put a hand over her heart, looking almost scandalized. 

“What? No, you’re not going without lunch Juleka!”

“I’ve done it before though!”

“That’s even worse!” Rose stopped and took a deep breath. Her voice was getting shrill, and she was not going to get into a shouting match with Juleka, let alone one in the middle of the school courtyard. “What is it Juleka?” She placed a gentle hand on Juleka’s arm, but the other girl looked away. “What is the problem here?”

“...I spent all my allowance this week on that new amp.” Her voice was just above a whisper. “I can’t buy anything.”

“What?” Juleka couldn’t stop her head from snapping up. Rose was looking at her like she had suggested something ridiculous. “I’m paying for it silly.”

“Huh? Rose, no I-”

“Don’t you say it!” Rose waved a finger in her face. “Don’t you say anything like ‘Oh Rose, you can’t do that.’ or even ‘Oh, I’ll owe you one.’ Ok?” She pulled Juleka by the hand down the steps. When had they gotten out the front door? “This one is on me. NO DEBTS.” 

Juleka knew better than to mess with Rose’s serious face. “Ok.” she conceded. She gave a Rose a small smile, which she returned tenfold. 

When they got to the bakery of Rose’s choosing, Juleka let her hand go to open the door for them. Wait, were they holding hands the whole time?

* * *

Juleka was hyperaware of Rose shaking up against her body. She was sure that if her survival instincts weren’t forcing her attention down the street to where Ladybug and Chat Noir were doing battle with an akuma, it would be the singular thing she was feeling. 

“We have to move Rose.” Juleka forced herself to keep calm, school her voice into the oh-so-common monotone she used. No accusations, no pressure. Simple fact. 

Rose nodded against her chest, but she stayed put. A quick frown pulled at Juleka’s lips, but she wiped it away. 

“I...I don’t think I can move.”

 _Fight. Flight. Freeze. Fawn._ The thought came to Juleka’s mind before she could stop it. With akumas, everyone knew fawn was out of the question, and fight was effectively suicide unless you were one of the Heroes. But not everyone can choose between the remaining two. 

“Well then I guess I’ll have to move for you.” Juleka slipped a hand under Rose’s butt and hoisted her into the air. Rose “Eep!”ed and wrapped her arms and legs around Juleka’s torso reflexively. She tried to block out her burning embarrassment at their current position, one hand still under Rose’s butt and one on her back. The sound of cars being crushed under massive force behind them as she ran helped her focus. She ran, and ran, and ran and cursed her inactivity in gym with each burning stab in her legs. Right when she was sure she could go no further, she stumbled into an alley and threw her back against a wall, sliding down until she was sitting on the ground. 

Rose was still in her arms, and she could feel cold tears soaking into her top. She ran her fingers through Rose’s hair and shushed the sounds of carnage away.

* * *

“I...I didn’t…”

Rose and Juleka stare at each other, dumbfounded. It was just a kiss on the cheek before Rose had to leave for home. They had done it before. So many times. More than Juleka could remember ~~lie. she remembered the burning of her skin after each and every one.~~ But Rose had missed. Aimed a little too far to the left, and hit dead on the bullseye. They had held it. It was barely a kiss, not even open-mouthed. But they had both stayed there for far too long for it not to mean something. 

Rose began to pull away. “I didn’t mean to-” Panicked thoughts tore through Juleka’s mind like a shotgun blast. Fictions of couples, potential couples, who let miscommunication get between them and never met again. 

Her arm shot out to grab Rose’s wrist right as she was about to turn away. “What if I meant to?” The words were out before she could think, before she could let herself think. Her nerves and anxiety were screaming in her mind at what she was doing, but the thought of the two of them drifting apart due to awkward tensions and unresolved feelings was a fate worse than death. She couldn’t. Wouldn’t. Not without trying first. 

“Huh?” Her voice was small, but not jeering. 

“What if I wanted to?” There was sand in her throat, but she pushed past it. “Wanted to...kiss you.” Saying it out loud, giving it a name made it real, and the weight of it settled over the room. “Could I?”

Rose turned back to her, and her face was an entire novel of worry. But there was a kernel of hope at the center. “I think I would want you to.” Juleka’s heart squeezed. “We should try. Just to make sure.” Juleka took a few stumbling steps back, falling onto her bed and pulling Rose with her by the wrist. Her other hand ran up Rose’s other arm up to cup her cheek almost of it’s own accord. The two leaned forward and disappeared from the world. 


	2. Marinette

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> College classes loom ominously on the horizon, but I can at least get this chapter out before that particular wave crashes down on me.

“Perfect!” Marinette cheered as she snapped another photo. Juleka blushed and fought the urge to hide behind her bangs, and off to the side Rose giggled quietly. “You’re the best model I could have asked for Juleka.” Marinette said earnestly, as she looked at the shot she had just taken. The praise was too much, and Juleka disappeared behind her hair to the sound of Rose’s laughter. 

When the two of them had walked into class holding hands, there was literal cheering. Apparently people had put actual money on what was happening between the two (we all know which people), and even Ms. Bustier had made a comment about hoping the two were happy together. Juleka, burning like an ant under a magnifying glass, was too busy to notice some of the blink-and-you-miss-it looks of disappointment that crossed a few faces. But Rose saw. 

“Alright! I think that’s enough for today!” Marinette said, closing the view screen on the camera. “Can you come back again next week?” 

“Oh. I actually have a...a date next week.” Rose hopped off the chair she was sitting on and went to lace her fingers through a beet-red Juleka’s.

“Oh. Oh! Right, of course!” There it was again. It was easy to spot on Marinette, for Rose at least. The drop in the voice, eyes look down at the ground, hands clasped in front of her. 

“Would another day work? Thursday?” 

Perking up like a flower in the sun, Marinette nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, that works! I can rearrange what I have going on that day.” 

“Oh, I don’t want to be a bother-“ Oh sweet Juleka. So not seeing the point. 

“No no!” Surely the frantic look in her eyes was obvious? Rose knew Juleka struggled with thinking people did nice things for her, but surely she could see it? “It’s fine! It was a joke! I, uh, am not doing anything on Thursday.” Marinette sucked air between her teeth, but couldn’t seem to make herself stop talking. “That’s the...the joke…” she trailed off, rubbing the back of her neck. 

Time to throw this poor girl a lifeline. With a laugh (the joke WAS pretty funny), she stepped in “I think we have to make the most of our free time where we get it. It seems like a great idea!” An idea, half-formed at best but bursting out before she could fully contain it. “I think we moved Family Game Night up to Thursday next week though.” She turned to Juleka “Would you be ok going alone?” 

“O-oh. Sure.” Rose felt a lance through her heart at Juleka’s disappointed face, but the excitement she caught on Marinette’s out of the corner of her eye balanced it out. 

As the pair waved goodbye, Rose pushed down thoughts of betraying Juleka. She deserved all the love she could find in the world, and if she was too shy to go get it, maybe Rose could nudge her the right way a little. 

* * *

“Sooooo… Marinette’s pretty cute right?” 

If Juleka has been drinking anything thicker than a shake, she was sure it would have come out of her nose. As it was, she was hacking and coughing so hard that Rose came around the restaurant table to pat her on the back a few times with a worried look on her face. 

“H-uh?” She managed to sputter out. 

“I was just saying. She’s cute, yeah?” 

“Well,” it felt like a weird topic to be discussing with her girlfriend. “Yeah, I guess so. But like, everyone in our class has thought that at one point.” 

“Mmm. Probably.” They ate in silence for a few more minutes. “I think…” Rose was choosing her words carefully “that she’s not happy that we’re together.” 

“What?” It was a different kind of shock. Not as sudden, but just as potent. _Where was all of this coming from?_ “She’s our friend. And like the nicest person we know. Possibly the nicest person currently alive. Why wouldn’t she be happy we’re together?”

Rose poked at her fries, thinking hard about what she wanted to say. “She’s my friend, but I think she’s...jealous. She thinks I took you away from everyone else. Her included.”

Juleka thought she could put together what Rose was saying, but the blood rushing in her ears was too loud. She had to be sure. “Huh?”

“Which, I just wanted you to know that I didn’t, you know?” One of the rare times Rose seemed as awkward and shy as Juleka did. “You’re not MINE, right?” She ran her hand through her short hair, a nervous tic that rarely saw the light of day. “I’m just saying that...I would be ok with you...dating other people.” 

The silence that followed and the look that went with it indicated it was her turn to speak, but Juleka was still hung up on something. “You think she…” the thought never finished. 

“I do. I think a lot of girls in class…” Rose trailed off on purpose, letting the implication draw itself. “Ask her. Next Thursday.”

“Me? Ask HER?” Juleka nearly had a heart attack just thinking about it. She and Rose has started dating what was effectively by accident, but to come right out and _ask-_

“Hey.” A gentle hand cupped her cheek, and all her worries seemed to flow away into it. “It’ll be alright. It’s Marinette. The Earth will fall into the sun before she hates anyone.” 

“I thought she was into Adrien.” It was a half-defense at best. More talking to herself in shock than anything. 

“She might be. But I’m pretty sure she’s also into you. Besides,” Rose gave her a _come on_ look. “It’s Adrien. That poor boy wouldn’t see the broad side of a barn if he drove into it.” 

“Mmmm. You’ve got a point.” Juleka was only half listening. Could she really…?

“Could she really…?” She let the question hang. 

“Like you? _Like_ like you?” Rose giggled a little to herself at the schoolyard terminology but reigned herself in at the seriousness of the topic. “I guess to be fair, I’m only as sure as you ever can be. But I am sure about one thing.” She reached across the table and put her hand comfortingly over Juleka’s. “I won’t be mad if you try.”

* * *

Juleka dug the heels of her hands into her eyes and groaned. Thoughts were ricocheting around her brain like an overloaded pinball machine. Rose had given her the go-ahead, surprising as it was, but this wasn’t some sort of challenge to see if she could pull off. Marinette was a very close friend and an actual human being with emotions she wasn’t going to toy with without being 100% positive. 

_Could I date Marinette?_

Cutting past any waffling and deflecting her mind tried to throw at her, that was the core of the issue. Putting aside _her_ making a move on someone else and all the panicked emotions that came with. 

_I mean, who wouldn’t date Marinette? She’s cute, she’s sweet, she makes_ the best _pastries you’ve ever had. Getting a girlfriend discount to the Dupain-Cheng bakery would be pretty nice…_

Juleka allowed herself a dry snort and pushed that thought aside. She rolled her bass pick between her fingers as she kept thinking. 

_She is kinda flaky though. So often she just...runs off and ditches on stuff. But she does come back eventually. And I guess you can’t really be blamed for being a little extra panicked when an akuma is around. She’s kinda clumsy...or…_ Juleka tried to think back to the last time Marinette had tripped over her own feet, or punched a railing because she misjudged the distance. It was hard to recall. _Or she was. She’s been getting a lot better lately. Not that that’s a fair thing to hold against anyone either. She does always help me with geometry homework when I need it. She brings in all those extras from her bakery for the class. She’ll stand up to Chloe or Lila, but she won’t bully them back. It’s like...setting boundaries._ As Juleka thought more and more about all the ways Marinette acted her mind began to draw a comparison she wasn’t sure she was comfortable with. 

_Marinette and Rose have kinda similar personalities. Is it ok to compare them like that?_ There was no denying from a strictly logical point of view that they acted alike. But comparing a girl she wanted to date to a girl she was already dating felt kind of...scummy. 

_But WHY does it feel scummy? I want to date her, Rose said it was ok for m-_ Juleka’s train of thought came to a dead stop. She froze, the pick dropping from her fingers and clattering to the floor of her gently swaying room. _I want to date her._ She was so busy thinking herself in circles, she had dug her way down to the truth without even realizing it. Juleka felt her breath catch in her throat. Leaning down, she shakily picked up her pick and held it up to eye level. _Now I just have to ask her._

* * *

“I figured I could, uh, use it as a prop ya know?” Juleka shouldered the case her bass was in. Now that she was looking, thinking about it, she could see it. Her eyes were wide, knuckles white around the camera in her hand. Juleka thought she could see the plastic case bending. “I mean, I didn’t give you a heads up, so if it doesn’t work-”

“NO!” She actually jumped a little at the intensity in Marinette’s voice. Clearing her throat and attempting to compose herself, Marinette went on “I, uh, I mean it’s fine! I have another outfit I could use instead of the one planned for today.C-come on up! To my studio!” she forced out a laugh. “It’s, it’s just my bedroom. That’s the...joke...” Marinette trailed off, tugging the collar of her shirt. 

Well, that session was...awkward. Juleka could’ve just been imagining it, but there was a tension in the room, sitting heavy on her shoulders. She wanted it to be gone, but she knew the only way for that to happen, it was going to get worse before it gets better. 

“That went really well!” Marinette looked over the photos in the camera roll. “You look great as always! IN THE OUTFITS! No-not that you don’t look great in general! I bet you’d look great in anything you wore! Uuuuuuhhhhh….” Marinette put her hand over the viewscreen, clearly about to snap it shut. 

“Wait!” The urgency in her voice surprised even herself. Marinette froze, shocked. “Just, leave it on for a minute. St-” she swallowed. _You can do this. You can_ do this. “Start a video, please?” 

She hadn’t put her bass away yet. Marinette gave her a confused look but quickly set the camera up for a video. With a thumbs-up, she hit the button. Juleka took a deep breath, positioning the bass on her lap. _Just play._

It didn’t sound quite right, but that was to be expected. There was a whole instrument missing, and she was playing a guitar part on a bass (she would apologize to Luka later), but she was still a pretty good player if she said so herself. With one last deep breath, she let the words start to flow out with the music.

 _It's hard to be a normal person  
That's just not me  
I'm writing a journal  
To keep my feelings hiding _  
  
_Across the bridge what will I see_ _  
_ _Wanna see it_ _  
_ _Dreaming my dreams_ _  
_ _Miracles, beautiful_ _  
_ _Here we go all the way_

 _Running from my life ends now_ _  
_ _Use to keep holding back my thoughts_ _  
_ _Would be wrong if you're gone_ _  
_ _Found my way through the stars_

 _If I could reach to your heart_ _  
_ _Money still can't buy me love_ _  
_ _But there's still life when there's_ _  
_ _Hope around_ _  
_ _Like a rainbow in the clouds_ _  
_ _A gift from above_

 _Kiss me before sunrise_ _  
_ _Or I'm leaving you tonight_ _  
_ _My love found a place_ _  
_ _To stay and rest like bed_ _  
_ _Always and forever_  
_Meant to be together_ _  
If we could change this world today with you_

As she sang, Juleka realized she had closed her eyes, but that was ok. She was pretty sure that if she saw Marinette’s face right now she would combust. When the last vibrating string finally stilled, she braved opening her eyes. Marinette was standing there with an unreadable look on her face. She carefully, robotically stopped the video. When Juleka looked back at her face, she was wearing the most obviously forced smile Juleka had ever seen. 

“S-so, you wanted me to record th-that for Rose huh?” She couldn’t talk around the lump in her throat. 

_Oh. Of course._

“Actually...I wanted you to record it...for you.” Juleka had never before so truly experienced a deafening silence.

“R-really?” Marinette’s voice was small. So small. “But, Rose-”

“Suggested it actually.” Juleka couldn’t help the grin that pulled at the corner of her lip. “She’s pretty intuitive you know.” 

Marinette was still standing there, staring at her. It felt like the camera was a border between them, an unbreakable wall that was on the verge of collapsing. 

“I know that it would be...weird. Unusual. But I want to try. If you do too.” No more words to say, Juleka held open her arms, offering Marinette a hug. 

In one long stride she was across the room in Juleka’s embrace. And she was fulfilling the wish Juleka had expressed to her in song. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Juleka's song, in case you didn't recognize it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FX-0Z9pdgw


	3. Kagami

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Juleka goes to watch a student-organized event and gets a little more than she bargained for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...college huh?   
> So it turns out online learning is NOT for me. I only got this chapter done because I was halfway through it before classes started, and squeezed through the other half during breaks at work. The next chapters may have to be delayed while I focus on continuing to just scrape by.

“So, why are you here?” Juleka asked Nathaniel as she watched her classmates plus a few extra preparing in the park. 

“Kim told me that if I participated, he would let Max out of something else he had to do to help me fix my tablet.”

“Ah. I was wondering, this doesn’t really seem like your thing.” Juleka nodded in understanding. 

“It’s really not. I’m hoping whoever I get paired up with will let me take a dive.” She let out a snort at Nathaniel’s unhopeful tone. It wasn’t likely. There wouldn’t be any serious injuries, but no-one was walking out of this one without a few bruises. “What about you?” Nath’s question brought her back to the present.

She pointed over her shoulder a few meters away. “The girls were worried.” Nathaniel followed her finger and saw Rose and Marinette doing what looked like the pee dance, but more nervous. Marinette had a first aid kit in her hands, and Rose had a cooler of ice packs and juice boxes. 

“Ah. Hey, since I’ll probably be over there in a few minutes, give a guy a heads up about their  _ bedside manner _ ?”

Juleka shoved his shoulder, blushing but also grinning. “I hope you get a concussion.” 

“That seems to be the leading bet.” 

If the feel of the classroom when Juleka has walked in holding Rose’s hand in hers was disappointment, then the one when she had arrived holding both Marinette and Rose’s hands was a mix of surprise and…something. Something piercing, like trying to see deeper into her than she was used to. It was unnerving, but she tried not to let it bother her. Maybe she was misinterpreting after all. Being in a polyamorous relationship with two other girls was bound to draw eyes the first few days, no matter how accepting everyone was. 

“Attention everyone!” Max’s voice drew the eyes of the assembled students, and side conversations died down. “The sparring competition is about to begin. The brackets have been predetermined from a random drawing.” He turned around a whiteboard, and Juleka’s heart dropped into her stomach. Beside her, she could almost hear Nathaniel’s drop further. 

Alix v. Adrien. Kagami v. Kim. Nathaniel, as the odd one out, given a pass into the semifinals, where a more complicated logic between the three remaining participants would determine the champion. Juleka wasn’t paying too much attention to that part. They might think they’re giving Nath a break by letting him past the first round, but she knew how the other two matchups were going to go down. Alix and Kim may be athletic, but Adrien and Kagami were highly experienced fencers, there was really no doubt they would win, and one would face off against Nath. Without protective padding, or muscle if she were being totally honest….it wouldn’t go well. Why did Kim even ask him to do it? Maybe they had a dropout? It didn’t matter now, this was going to be a painful day for the artist.  _ Unless… _

“Now to begi-”

“Can I participate?” 

Juleka might’ve actually heard the  _ thump _ of a few jaws hitting the ground, or that could have been the blood pumping in her ears. In particular, she could feel two very concerned pairs of eyes burning into her side, but she kept her eyes on Max and Kim. 

“I, uh what?” Even Max was at a loss for words. 

“You’ve got an uneven bracket. I can go up against Nath if you need me to.” 

“Really?”

“Yeah. Dude, am I in or not?” 

“Uh, yes. Yes!” Kim grabbed Max’s shoulder and shook it. He shrugged off the hand and quickly markered on Juleka’s name. 

The two other matches went about as well as Juleka expected. Kagami crushed Kim, and Adrien beat Alix handily, although the skater managed to get a few connections. When Juleka and Nathaniel picked up the sparring swords, they launched into a Shakespeare-esque scene, complete with two monologues each before Juleka “stabbed” Nathaniel’s prone body. There was moderate applause. 

When it came time to decide between the three finalists, the first matchup would be decided by another draw from a hat, and the matches would be determined from there. 

“And the first match will be between” a slip of paper was pulled from Nino’s cap. “Juleka!”  _ Well, at least we’re getting it out of the way.  _ “Aaaaannnnddd… Kagami!”  _ Oh great, the painful version.  _ Juleka walked to the middle of the ring of students and numbly accepted the offered hilt, already mentally prepping for the soreness tomorrow. But as she turned to face Kagami, whose gaze gave her no quarter, she caught sight of her girlfriends out of the corner of her eye and her train of thought suddenly jumped onto a new track.

_ I mean, I shouldn’t just GIVE UP right away. Mom has been teaching me for a reason...there’s no restriction on style… and maybe I want to show off in front of my girlfriends… _

“Juleka! Are you ready?” Max’s shout snapped her out of her thoughts. Taking a deep breath, Juleka shifted her weight. Letting go of the hilt with one hand, she rotated her body from a forward-facing stance to a more sidelong one, so her entire body was more on one plane. Loosening her remaining grip, the tip of the sword drifted down to point squarely at Kagami’s face. “Ready.” Kagami narrowed her eyes in confusion behind her protective eyewear. 

“Very well. Match, start!” Kagami didn’t waste a single second, springing forward with a thrust like a bullet being fired from a gun. If Juleka hadn’t been watching her match against Kim, she would’ve been surprised. But she had paid attention, it was one of her strong suits. Rotating her back leg, the thrust went wide, passing her torso by centimeters in the front. With a quick flick of her wrist, her sword smacked solidly into Kagami’s unguarded torso and in less than a second, the first match was over. 

Silence reigned over the small park they were all in until Juleka held out her arms to Kim. 

“U-uh, point Juleka!” The suspicion in Kagami’s eyes before had been replaced with shock. She wasn’t going to take her eyes off her opponent, but Juleka was fairly sure the look was in everyone’s eyes but her own. The pair fell back into ready positions. “Match, start!” it was more of a question this time.

Kagami didn’t strike right away this time, studying Juleka carefully. And although her posture suggested a carefree relaxedness, Juleka was doing exactly the same. Eventually Kagami made the first move, swinging in from Juleka’s right but turning into an upswing at the last second. Thankfully Juleka had no intention of deflecting this strike, springing off her front foot and leaping back out of range. She landed on the balls of her feet, but wasn’t prepared for Kagami to roll at her and jab her in the ankle. 

“Point Kagami!” Max called. “Next point wins!”

Everyone was watching, eyes alight with anticipation. No one had expected Juleka to put up this much of a fight, and no matter the victor this was going to be talked about for days. 

“Match, start!” Juleka knew what her reputation was at school. Even with two girlfriends, she was the quiet one. If she was behind you, you’d forget she was there. She had overheard a couple of students once debating if she was a vampire, claiming she had been standing beside them on a field trip once and never once hearing breathe. The first two matches she had played defensive, less confident in her skills than Kagami. For the final match, she decided to try and catch her off guard. 

Juleka lept forward on the signal similar to Kagami in the first round, but swung in a wide arc. Kagami’s eyes widened slightly at the sudden aggression, but she easily brought her blade up to block the swing. 

_ Good.  _ Juleka let the blade slide out of her loose grip, and swung her hand around to grip Kagami’s sword right over the other girl’s hand. With a sharp jerk of her wrist, Kagami had no strength to resist as her own sword swung back and popped her in the head. 

Juleka’s sword clattered to the dirt in the silent field as everyone stared at the two, standing in the same pose. Juleka couldn’t read the look on Kagami’s face.

“Wait, was that a legal move?” Alix’s voice cut through the silence. 

“Uh, maybe? I didn’t set any rules, but it still seemed kinda unf-”

“Enough!” The debate stopped dead when Kagami’s voice rang clear. When Juleka released her hand, the girl turned to face her. Her face was completely devoid of emotion, and Juleka wasn’t even sure if Kagami was even looking at her. She was totally robotic, only the white-knuckle grip on her hilt giving anything away. “Well fought.” and a curt bow, and Kagami dropped her sword unceremoniously on the ground and turned on a heel, walking away stiffly. 

“Wait, there’s still more matches for you to…!” Max called after her, but when she didn’t stop his voice died out. Juleka wondered for a moment if she had let a competitive spirit she didn’t even know she had take over and gone too far, and that maybe an akuma would be coming for her in half an hour. 

“I had better go check on her.” Like he had read her mind, Adrien tossed a quick smile over his shoulder as he followed behind her. 

“Uhhm, well then Juleka wins by disqualification!” Somehow she didn’t feel like taking a victory lap.

* * *

“Couffaine!” Juleka looked up from her sandwich. Her lunches had gotten much more active. When Marinette had started sitting with her, Alya had followed and with her came Nino, and with Nino came Adrien (if that was ok), and suddenly her close friend group had expanded 200%. All of them looked up at Kagami’s voice. Juleka looked across the outdoor area they ate in to see Luka looking equally confused. Wordlessly she looked back to Kagami, pointing to herself, then Luka and back again.

“No, you!” Kagami pointed to her. “Face me again!” 

What?

“Uuhhh...no.” It may have sounded a little blunt, but Juleka was too confused to try and make it sound nice. 

“What?” Kagami deflated. “What do you mean no?” 

“I don’t...want to?” She looked around the table to see if someone was giving her some signal that she was doing something wrong, but they all seemed as perplexed as she did, aside from Adrien, who seemed resigned. 

“Well, then what now?” 

“...grapes?” Juleka held up a bunch from her lunch tray. Kagami gave her an unreadable look before turning again and stiffly strutting away. 

“Is that her entire thing? Walking away like that?” Juleka turned to Adrien, the unofficial Kagami expert (the person that knew her best). 

“She doesn’t have the chance to talk to other people our age much. And she comes from a...competitive household.” Adrien sighed as he watched her exit the courtyard. “She’s actually very nice once you get to know her.” 

“Didn’t you say that about Chloe?”

“It’s true! Chloe just doesn’t really let people get to know her.” 

“Well, hopefully Kagami can move on from this soon.” Marinette said from her left, swallowing a bite of her own lunch. “Letting something like this consume you can be really bad for you.”

* * *

Juleka had to give it to her, Kagami may not be too concerned with her mental health, but she was persistent. 

“Cou-“ 

“Yeah, yeah I know. Come sit down.” 

She looked surprised, but Juleka only patted the spot on the park bench next to her again. 

“And then we fight?” 

“Maybe. But we definitely don’t if you just keep standing there. Or turn and walk away again.” Kagami sat down beside her, back stiff as a board. The two day in silence for a few tense moments. “So do you have me chipped or something? Or do you just do the whole “challenge” thing whenever you see me?” 

“I don’t have you chipped. I just happen to see you more often than usual.” 

“Uh-huh.” Juleka glanced over at the other girl. “It’s becoming kind of obtrusive you know. You’ve even interrupted a few dates.” 

She has the grace to at least look apologetic. “Sorry.” 

“No hard feelings. Gods know how dangerous those are in this city right now. But that’s why we’re doing this.” Juleka gestured vaguely around her. “What’s up with all this? Why are you keeping it up?”

“You defeated me.” 

“Debatable. You could’ve come back around and won the whole tournament if you hadn’t...y’know, walked out on it.” 

“That’s not the point.” Kagami snapped at her. “I’m supposed to be the best.” 

“What about Adrien?” Calm as a monk. 

“He’s a worthy opponent.” Credit where it was due, Kagami didn’t sugarcoat her words. 

“Oh, and I’m not?” 

“You haven’t had any training!”

“What? Sure I have.” After a few seconds of no response, Juleka turned back to Kagami. For the first time she saw confusion on her face.Similar to the shock she remembered from their fight. But deeper. “What, you thought I did all that stuff through blind luck?” 

“I’ve...I’ve never even seen a style like yours, much less somewhere to train in it.”

“Oh. Yeah there’s a reason for that. My mother is….eccentric is the nice word for it. She’s been training my brother and I in ‘swashbuckling’ for years now.” 

“...oh.” 

“Don’t get me wrong, it’s still not a great mindset you’re in,” Juleka raised her visible eyebrow at Kagami “but I have swordplay training.” 

“Right.” She sounded pretty obviously on autopilot. The two sat in silence for a little while. 

“So, you wanna spar sometime?” 

“What?” 

“You know. Sparring? Like fighting but not a-“

“I know what sparring is.” It was flat, not angry. Maybe a touch ‘of course I know what sparring is’, but not a lot. “I just...why?” 

“Well this way you don’t have to shout my last name at me whenever we see each other.” There was a pause longer than Juleka was expecting. “I mean, I thought you still wanted to, but if you don’t-“ 

“No I do!” 

“Cool. Sooooo, Wednesday work for you?” 

* * *

Juleka sat down heavily to the ground, not even trying to disguise the tired groan that floated out of her mouth. “I should start stamina training if we’re going to keep this up.” Craning her head, she looked behind her. “Are you two sure you want to stay? No hard feelings if you want to do something else.”

“Watching our hot girlfriend swordfight in workout gear? There’s nowhere else we’d rather be.” The lecherous glint in Rose and Marinette’s eyes was slightly unnerving. 

“Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I think I’m done for today.” Ignoring the exaggerated “aaaaawwww”s from behind her, she laid the rest of the way onto her back and stretched her arm to grab her water bottle. She tipped it carefully into her horizontal mouth, then dumped some over her forehead. Refocusing, she saw an offered hand and gladly took it, letting Kagami hoist her back into her feet. “Sorry to cut short, but the teaching my mom gave me was more of a sprint, and I don’t think I’m ready for a marathon like you are.” 

“I understand. Thank you again for agreeing to spar with me at all.” Kagami shifted her hand to Juleka’s shoulder, and before she could react, leaned forward and gently pecked her on the lips. 

Juleka’s mind bluescreened. 

When she pulled away, Kagami must have noticed the blank surprise on her face, because she immediately said “I’m sorry, did I misjudge the nature of your offer? My deepe-“ 

“Nope! You got it right!” Rose’s voice from her side woke Juleka from her shock. 

“Welcome to the club!” Marinette was suddenly beside her, one hand over her mouth and another draped across her shoulders. Her grip was iron solid. Since when was Marinette this strong? “I’m thinking of making us matching jackets.”

“That sounds...nice.” Wait. Is that a blush? No way, it can’t be. But what else could it be? “I look forward to our next sparring session.” Juleka surprised herself by nodding. “See you all tomorrow.” Turning much less aggressively than Juleka had seen, she walked back out of the small grassy area they had been in. Once she had gotten far enough away, the two turned to look at an irked Juleka. 

“Now don’t be mad. We all know you were thinking about it, weren’t you?” Rose said as Marinette uncovered Juleka’s mouth. 

“...well YEAH, but still. Shouldn’t this be, I don’t know, specifically stated in no uncertain terms or something?”

“HEY KAGAMI!” Juleka flinched when Marinette shouted at the top of her lungs with no warning. A little down the street, Kagami turned back to face them, confused. “YOU’RE JULEKA’S GIRLFRIEND, RIGHT?”

“WELL YES. THAT’S WHAT I WAS ASSUMING.” She shouted back. Rose and Marinette fistbumped in front of her torso, and Juleka couldn’t help but laugh disbelievingly and put a thumb up to Kagami. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Technically Juleka owes Nath one now as a wingman twice removed. 
> 
> Just to clear this up, I'm not saying that Juleka is better at swordplay than Kagami. They both have different styles of combat, and while Juleka has trained much less, Kagami's lack of exposure to anything outside of her norm leaves her unprepared to handle Juleka's style.


	4. Chloe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Juleka gets stuck in a sticky situation with someone she’d rather not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m not as super happy with this one as I want to be, but I’ve got no other ideas on how to improve.   
> I don't know the kid's pre-show history at all, so I'm making the executive decision to make up my own.

“This sucks.”

“Gee, thanks captain obvious.” Chloe snarked at her from her side of the closet. A sharp reply was on the tip of Juleka’s tongue, but she sighed and counted to ten, letting it die off. Now may be one of the only times to get safely angry, but slipping into a habit would end poorly. 

An akuma, what else, had come along to ruin the day. Some sort of sealing monster? Glue? Whatever, the only thing Juleka knew, and really all that mattered, was that a big inhuman mass of  _ something _ charged down the hall, bodychecking her and the person she happened to be standing next to into a janitor’s closet, and sealing it closed. And of all the people she happened to be stuck with. 

“So, you cause this one too?” Ok, maybe that reply hadn’t  _ entirely _ gone away. 

“WHAT? How dare you!” Chloe was on her feet in a flash, looking down with indignant rage at an indifferent Juleka. “What makes you thank that?”

“C’mon Chloe. There’s a pattern. Everyone in school knows it.” Juleka stood up herself. “You think the rest of us are too stupid to put it together? Actually, don’t answer that.” 

“As if I would care about anybody else’s feelings at this hellhole of a school.”

“There! There it is, exactly what causes  _ this- _ ” Juleka threw a hand out toward the closet door “all the time! But you know what Chloe?” The drop in her voice had Chloe’s eyes widen. “I think you do care. You care about us liking you at least, with how hard you try to be popular. But you watched too much  _ Mean Girls  _ growing up, and you think you can step all over everyone like dirt and they’ll like you anyway-”

“Well what the hell do you know!” Chloe jabbed a finger into her collarbone, and Juleka gritted her teeth. “It’s not like anyone here ever asked me!” 

“We tried!” Juleka shouted at her. “You may not remember Chloe, but I do. I remember when we were eight, and you came to class the first day for the first time. Alix sat next to you and tried to say hi, and you pushed her out of the chair onto the floor. Ivan scored a goal on you in gym, and you got him  _ suspended _ .  _ I  _ tried to talk to you once and you dumped your water bottle out onto my head.” Chloe’s eyes were wide again, but this time in shock. “We tried to ask you Chloe, but your answer was always the same, so we stopped asking.” With a start, Juleka realized the two were standing inches apart, their torsos almost touching, definitely beyond personal space. The fight drained out of her like water out of a faucet. “Whatever. Never mind.” Juleka slumped back down onto the floor, leaning against the wall and looking out of the high, narrow, too-thin-to-squeeze-through window. There was no reply from her temporary cellmate, but the shifting of fabric suggested she sat back down too. 

More time passed. This akuma was taking awhile. Maybe it had glued up one of the heroes.

“So what do I do then?” The quiet voice startled Juleka. She had expected to spend the rest of the akuma in silence. She turned back to Chloe. She was looking at the ground. “At least half the class hates me anyway, probably more. It’s too late to change their minds.” The petulant attitude was still there, but softer. An undercurrent, not the main tone. 

“Well…” Juleka trailed off, trying to get her thoughts together. “Everyone doesn’t  _ hate _ you.” Chloe gave her a dry look. “Ok,  _ most people  _ don’t hate you, they’re just...annoyed. That you…”

“‘ _ Step all over them like dirt? _ ’”

“Yes?...” 

“So what do I do?”

“Not...that?” 

“What does that mean?” Chloe threw her hands up into the air, and Juleka took a deep breath, counting backward from ten for the second time. An outburst might’ve gotten this ball rolling, but another would just throw them off track. For the first time, she thought about how growing up with a mayor for a father and a famous fashion director for a mother, Chloe may not have ever learned to talk to someone as an equal. 

“Well, say please and thank you. Ease off on the condescending tone all the time. Let people talk about themselves, and actually listen. Stuff like that.” Juleka counted on her fingers.

“But no one...no one other than Sabrina wants to talk with me.” If Juleka were drinking something, she probably would’ve done a spit take. Hearing Chloe admit something like that, not in the heat of the moment, that some people didn’t like her and it wasn’t THEIR fault. That was shocking. 

“Well, start with Sabrina then.” Juleka recovered. “Other people will notice. It’ll still be a while before you’re invited to any birthday parties-”

“Right, as if I’d want to-!” Chloe caught herself mid-hair flip, wincing a little and looking over to Juleka, who only raised an eyebrow back. “Uh, I mean…” she trailed off, unable to come up with a way to save it.

“One step at a time.” Juleka conceded. “No one expects you to become a whole new person overnight. Not a better person at least.” Juleka chuckled a little, but it died quickly when Chloe’s face shifted to look like she had been kicked in the stomach. “I-I didn’t mean it like that!” Juleka backpedaled frantically. “It’s about the whole Akuma thing, like how it-” 

She was saved by a familiar wave of black and red washing over her. It was funny, how anachronous it was, the calming scent and feel of a warm summer breeze contrasting with the visual chaos of the swarm. When it passed, the two girls looked at each other for a moment, before Juleka put her hand on the doorknob. It twisted open easily. 

“How funny would it be if the door was never stuck, we just thought it was.” Juleka glanced over to Chloe with a smirk.

“Ha! Yeah right.” Chloe scoffed. “You were there. We both tried it. I nearly pulled it off it’s hinges.”

“Oh did you now? Princess has some hidden muscle we don’t know about?” Juleka’s smirk grew, and a part of her felt smug when Chloe blushed and turned away. 

“Juleka!” Now there was a voice for sore ears. Turning down the hall, she saw Rose sprinting toward them faster than she had ever seen her run. Only her long history with the girl gave her the foresight to know she wasn’t going to stop, so she braced her back leg and held open her arms just in time for Rose to crash into her. “Oh thank god I was so worried when we got the warning and you weren’t with me and I texted Kagami and you weren’t with her and Marinette WOULDN’T EVEN ANSWER-” 

“Rose! Rose, breathe.” Juleka put a hand on her head and rubbed circles in her hair as Rose gasped for air. Out of the corner of her eye, she just caught Chloe looking at her with an indecipherable look on her face, before turning and walking away. 

* * *

As more and more people wove themselves into the web of Juleka’s life, she found the amount of alone time was dwindling fast. She didn’t mind all that much, the time she was spending with her girlfriends in it’s stead was amazing. But she still needed a little solitude every now and then. 

So the fact she was using some of it to do this… Juleka shook her head.  _ Stop thinking like that. There’ve been enough signs to warrant one last chance. _ Reaching up, she rang the doorbell. After a few moments, the door was opened by a man dressed in a suit. 

“Can I help you?”

“Here for a group assignment.” It was a lie for a greater cause. 

“Ms. Bourgeois didn’t inform me of such things.”

“You expected her to?” That one might’ve cut a little deep, but she really needed to get inside. 

“Hm. Good point.” He stepped aside and held the door open. “Up the stairs, second door on the left.” 

“Thank you.” She nodded to the man as she went by. 

It was almost sad how she wasn’t surprised they could probably fit the whole  _ Liberty  _ in here. She passed through the absurdly large rooms to Chloe’s door, and knocked. 

“Ugh! Butler Jean, you DON’T have to knock! Just come in!”

“But what if I saw you changing?” Juleka called back in her normal voice. There was a loud  _ thump _ , followed by some sliding and shuffling before the door was thrown open. Chloe was not in casual clothes, and in fact looked like she was about to walk out onto a runway, same as always. 

“There’s a sign I hand over the doorknob. WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?” 

“You know, our group project?” She said much louder than necessary, while ushering Chloe back into the room and closing the bedroom door behind her. “Or at least, that’s what your butler thinks.” 

“And he believed you?”

“He believed you wouldn’t have told him about it, which is actually kinda sad.” Juleka walked over to Chloe’s desk and dropped down into the chair. 

“Sure. Sit down-“

“Thank you.”

“So why are you  _ actually _ here?” 

“Figured we could hang out, like actual friends do?”

“And you think we’re  _ actual friends _ ?” 

Juleka let the barb slide off her. “No, but fake it ‘till you make it right? Besides, I know you’re not doing great in Chemistry, and I just so happen to have that homework left to do.”

“How do you know how my classes are going??”

“Because every time you get a bad grade you screech like a banshee predicting the death of an entire town.”

Chloe gawked at her, not used to being spoken to like this, but without the malice. “There’s only one chair for that desk!” It was a flimsy excuse and they both knew it. 

“Really? You live in a penthouse suite and you can’t find a second chair  _ anywhere _ ?” 

“Nope.” 

“Well then I guess I’m doing it on the bed. 

* * *

Juleka had been learning a lot about herself lately, each new girl she dated teaching her something new. And Chloe was teaching her that she was a persistence hunter. 

Chloe always made a big show out of being angry when she showed up, and telling her to not come back next time, but she never got kicked out, and things went really well in the middle. 

And when Chloe walked up one day with her usual  _ I’ll-walk-on-you-and-you’ll-thank-me  _ strut and dropped a textbook into Juleka’s arms, saying something along the lines of “You left this in my room.” and briskly turning around and walking away? The looks on her friends faces were enough to fuel the tiny gremlin in her heart for years. 

“REALLY?” Alix practically shouted. 

Juleka winced. “Ssshhhh. Yes, really.” 

“Why would you want to-“

“ _ Hey. _ I get it, she’s mean, and hard to be around. But her mother is a fashion director and her father is the mayor. She never learned how to talk to people without talking down to them. I’m just...trying to show her how.” Juleka shrugged, that old self-consciousness rearing up. “Adrien always said, she is nice if you get to know her.” 

Adrien was looking at her like some sort of proud parent, and  _ that _ was a lot. 

Everyone crowded around their lunch table shrugged and began to dissipate, not convinced that Juleka wasn’t crazy, but understanding they wouldn’t see eye to eye about it just yet. But halfway back to her table, Alix suddenly whirled back around with a near-manic excitement on her face. “Can we call you the Beekeeper now??” 

Two people nearly swallowed their spoons. 

* * *

“Thank you. For not asking about...Queen Bee.”

Juleka looked up from her worksheet. Chloe hadn’t touched hers in minutes judging from her progress, and was looking away from her. It was a sincere thanks. 

“Yeah. I mean, I guess I already know most of it. A lot of Paris knows a lot of it. You made sure.” 

“Not that stuff. The ‘how does it work’ stuff or ‘can I meet Ladybug’ or ‘can you hook me up’ stuff.” 

“Of course. I am curious, not gonna lie. But I understand why you can’t say, and I’m pretty sure I know the answers already anyway.” 

Chloe didn’t reply right away, and the two sat in silence for a moment. “It’s funny you say that-“ there was a hitch in her voice. Juleka looked up at her to see her staring deliberately at the History report in front of her. “-because after Queen Bee’s big TV debut, my mother called. And she asked me all those questions.” Something dripped onto the notepad on the desk. “So how come she didn’t know any of the answers?” 

Juleka knew what she could say, but she also knew none of the words would really hold the meaning they needed. So instead she reached across the table to wrap her fingers around Chloe’s. And they sat like that for a while. 

“Of course if you tell anyone about this-“

“Pain of death on me and my family for generations to come. Yeah I got it.” 

“Didn’t you say it was rude to interrupt people?” Chloe quirked an eyebrow at her, but Juleka could hear the lack of seriousness in her voice. 

“Look at you, remembering your lessons.” She didn’t try to hide her pride for the other girl. 

“O-of course!” Wow, THAT is a cute blush. “I’m the best student you’ll ever have!” 

“No worries, I think you’re a shoe-in for the award.” 

Chloe blushed even harder and muttered something under her breath about “not fair” and “laying it on so thick.” Juleka smiled a little wider and let it go. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like Chloe wouldn’t say the gal-pals word in the beginning, even if everyone knew that was obviously what they were.  
> And I always wondered what the more subtle ramifications of publicly outing your superhero status were.


End file.
